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Evaluation of the articular cartilage of the knee joint with vastly undersampled isotropic projection reconstruction steady‐state free precession imaging
Author(s) -
Kijowski Richard,
Lu Aiming,
Block Walter,
Grist Thomas
Publication year - 2006
Publication title -
journal of magnetic resonance imaging
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.563
H-Index - 160
eISSN - 1522-2586
pISSN - 1053-1807
DOI - 10.1002/jmri.20596
Subject(s) - steady state free precession imaging , cartilage , osteoarthritis , knee joint , magnetic resonance imaging , nuclear magnetic resonance , nuclear medicine , pulse sequence , medicine , physics , radiology , anatomy , pathology , surgery , alternative medicine
Purpose To determine the feasibility of the vastly undersampled isotropic projection reconstruction steady‐state free precession (VIPR‐SSFP) sequence for evaluating the articular cartilage of the knee joint. Materials and Methods A magnetic resonance (MR) examination of the knee was performed on 33 subjects using a GE 1.5T scanner and a phased‐array extremity coil. VIPR‐SSFP, proton density‐weighted fast spin‐echo (PD‐FSE), fat‐suppressed T2‐weighted fast spin‐echo (T2‐FSE), and three‐dimensional fat‐suppressed spoiled gradient recall‐echo (SPGR) sequences were performed on three asymptomatic volunteers and 10 patients with osteoarthritis of the knee joint. Signal‐to‐noise efficiency, and contrast‐to‐noise ratio (CNR) measurements were calculated for all sequences and compared with the use of paired t‐tests. The VIPR‐SSFP sequence was then performed on 20 consecutive patients who were undergoing a routine MR examination of the knee. Results The cartilage signal‐to‐noise efficiency of the VIPR‐SSFP sequence was not significantly different from that of the PD‐FSE and SPGR sequences. The cartilage signal‐to‐noise efficiency of the VIPR‐SSFP sequence was significantly higher ( P < 0.05) than that of the T2‐FSE sequence. The VIPR‐SSFP sequence produced images with significantly higher ( P < 0.05) CNR between cartilage and synovial fluid than the PD‐FSE and SPGR sequences, and significantly higher ( P < 0.05) CNR between cartilage and subchondral bone than the T2‐FSE sequence. The VIPR‐SSFP sequence allowed excellent visualization of the articular cartilage of the knee joint in all subjects. All articular cartilage defects identified on the PD‐FSE, T2‐FSE, and SPGR images were well visualized on the VIPR‐SSFP images. Conclusion VIPR‐SSFP images had high cartilage signal‐to‐noise efficiency and high CNR between cartilage and adjacent synovial fluid and subchondral bone; therefore, the sequence is well suited for evaluating the articular cartilage of the knee joint. J. Magn. Reson. Imaging 2006. © 2006 Wiley‐Liss, Inc.